Friends, Romans, Countrymen...
Ho Ho Holy crap, have I been busy. I don't mean to be neglectful.
I've been working full-time (for the first time ever) as a restaurant baker for the past few months, and I haven't quite figured out how to manage everything. You see, Mr. Beta works mornings and I work nights, so the only time we have together is on the weekends--which I magically have off. So it's not that I don't love you guys and want to fill your tummies with ooey gooey goodness, I'm just learning to be a real grown-up.
We moved to a big-kid apartment at the beginning of the month, and I decided that was a great opportunity to try to start things up again. More space for more cooking toys means more kitchen play time. And, hopefully, that means more time for Baking Beta!
Anywho....
Ever since I can remember, my family had Christmas brunch/breakfast. We always had eggs, sausage, coffee, clementines, and something I baked. Most of the time, our muffins came out of a box--usually Krusteaz cran-orange or blueberry because they were super yummy and moist. But given my new position, I thought I would start making my own Christmas muffins from scratch. And what better holiday combination is there than cranberries and orange, both of which are in season this time of year?
A bonus to this recipe is that these muffins are pretty low-calorie. Fewer than 200, in fact. For those of you who don't know, I lost quite a few pounds after my freshman year in college, and I am in no hurry to see them come back, so I try to find and create recipes that won't hurt my waistline. This is a good one. Rather than using sugary dried cranberries, this one uses fresh cranberries. They are oh-so-tart and tasty!
